Clue: Saving Harry Potter
by Eira Stradling
Summary: Harry has gone missing-what could have happened to him? Was he jinxed with Impedimenta in the Divination classroom? Was he shoved into a Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement? Who is to blame-Draco, Crabbe & Goyle, Professor Umbridge, Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, or Peter Pettigrew? Join Neville, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna to solve the mystery!
1. Chapter 1

Luna skipped happily down the hall, and practiced saying the spell used against boggarts: _"Riddikulus!"_ Her voice echoed down the hall, and she was quite satisfied that she would be able to show it off in the Dumbledore's Army meeting, which was about to start. It was, in her opinion, the best thing to happen to Hogwarts this year. Harry, Ron, and Hermione's acceptance of her made her heart light, and the thought of Neville shyly asking for her help made a slight blush come to her cheeks. Shaking off the thoughts, she closed her eyes and brought her focus to what lay ahead of her. She stood in front of the inconspicuous wall, wishing nothing more than to practice a true defense against the Dark Arts. When the wall opened, so did her eyes. Alone in the hallway, she vanished through the brick.

After coaching everyone through the Dumbledore's Army session about boggarts, to which Harry hadn't bothered to show up, Ginny was worried. Perhaps Draco had gotten to him, and he was off somewhere trying to get rid of him. The DA was not exactly public, and if Harry had been caught on his way there, he could be in serious trouble with Umbridge. Ginny scowled when she thought of the creepy, toad-like "professor". The scar on the back of Harry's and other students' hands made her want to hex the Ministry hag. She turned the corner, and waiting for her was a mass of vines that immediately wrapped itself around her body. All she could do was struggle for her wand and scream in hopes of someone hearing. How she hated being a damsel in distress! The Devil's Snare, reacting to her attempts to free herself, only tightened its' already constricting grip on her body. She couldn't cry out anymore, and her vision was going fuzzy, gray. Her lack of breath made her head spin. Just when she thought she was going to pass out, a bright light and a firm voice jerked her back. Her body hit the ground, and she tried to gasp her way to a normal breath. Hermione, with her hand on Ginny's shoulder, asked, "Are you alright?" "Yes," Ginny wheezed, "but I need another moment or two…" She closed her eyes and waited until the dizziness faded and her breath was effortless again. Hermione was rubbing her back, and waiting patiently. "Thanks for that," Ginny grinned, "I thought I was done for." Sudden footsteps echoed rapidly through the corridor. The two Gryffindors lifted their heads to see Professor Sprout swiftly approaching.

"What happened to my Devil's Snare? What is it doing here?" the Professor's voice took on a bit of a squeak by the end of her speech, and the two girls looked at each other helplessly.

"I dunno, it just—" Ginny tried to explain, but it was too late.

"Fifteen points from Gryffindor," squawked the Head of Hufflepuff, "for not learning how to handle Devil's Snare _properly_. The next time you encounter it, you _will not struggle_. I expected more of you, Miss Weasely." With that, Professor Sprout waved her want to summon the shriveled plant to her side, turned on her heel, and marched down the corridor.

"Well," Ginny stood, "have you seen Harry 'round? He didn't make it to the DA meeting. He never misses."

"He didn't make it?" Hermione immediately looked concerned as she rose from the floor, "I know he meant to be there. He wouldn't just skive off."

"I know," Ginny agreed, "that's why I'm worried. I'm afraid something happened to him. If he ran into Draco—"

"We'll find him." Hermione started tugging her down the corridor.

"He had something to do for Professor Trelawney, didn't he? Let's check the Divination classroom," Ginny's idea had her tugging Hermione off. Together, they charged up the stairs and found themselves in an empty classroom smelling of sandalwood and tea.

"If he was here, and Draco found him, then they would have fought, wouldn't they?" Ginny's brow furrowed, "I think Draco could have pulled off _Impedimenta_ , don't you? Then dragged him off somewhere—"

"Ginny, the Impediment jinx only lasts about ten seconds—it couldn't have stopped Harry for long. He would still have some motion control, and the entire room would show signs of him fighting Draco. This room is undisturbed. If it happened here, it wasn't with _Impedimenta_. I'm sorry, Ginny," Hermione ended gently, knowing Ginny only wanted to find Harry as quickly as possible.

"We'll find him. There're others who will help. Neville, Luna, Ron—they'll all want to help," Ginny's gaze hardened with determination. Hermione, relieved, nodded, "Let's go find them."


	2. Chapter 2

Since the DA meeting, Ron was walking with Luna to the Hospital Wing. An accidental elbow from Neville had given her a sore rib. Both were concerned that Harry hadn't turned up to help Ginny teach the Boggart-Banishing spell. When they got to the door, Ron tried the knob. Oddly enough, it wouldn't turn. Immediately, Ron grew suspicious. He turned to Luna and asked, "You don't think something happened to Harry in here, do you?"

"If it's locked, and it's never locked…" Luna's voice trailed off as her expression turned to a rare look of concern. She rubbed her side with a wince, and looked down the corridor. There was no sign of anyone at all down the illuminated expanse of brick.

"We could get in," she mused, "and there's no one here to see it."

"Right," Ron nodded, and pulled out his wand, " _Alohomora_!" There was a click at the sound of his short, firm vocalization. Luna reached out, and turned the doorknob successfully. She gave Ron a congratulatory smile before pushing the entry open. It was, for once, empty but for several students either unconscious or sleeping. Ron couldn't quite tell which, but he was fairly certain that if someone surprised Harry quietly, or more likely gave him something he wasn't supposed to have, it would explain Harry's absence from their meeting. Both of them quietly entered, and looked around. Nothing seemed out of place, but Ron was not ready to give up just yet. "D'you think, Luna, that Crabbe and Goyle could've slipped Sleeping Draught to Harry?"

"Sleeping Draught? I've no idea, but it couldn't have been Crabbe and Goyle," Luna shook her head.

"Why not? They're thick with Malfoy. If he suggested it to them, they wouldn't have even asked why." Ron stepped to a cabinet, and found some Bruise Balm. Handing it to Luna, he rummaged through the rest of the contents to find that there was no Sleeping Draught inside.

"No Sleeping Draught?" Luna guessed.

"No," Ron conceded, "but they could've taken the last of the bloody stuff."

"I don't think so," Luna tilted her head to the side, "Malfoy would have been involved completely. He wouldn't have trusted them to do it on their own, and there would have been quite the commotion."

"Yeah," Ron frowned, "you've the right of it. Bloody hell, if it happened here, who could tell?" They exited the Hospital Wing, even more worried than before.

"We should find the others. I'm sure everyone else noticed Harry's missing," Luna pointed out.

"Right," Ron muttered with a nod, "let's go." Ron stuffed his wand back into his sleeve, and turned back to Luna, "did you put the stuff on?"

"Oh," Luna looked down at the petite jar in her hands, "no, I suppose I'd forgotten. Thank you, Ron." She turned back into the Hospital Wing, tossing a "I'll find you later to help" over her shoulder. Ron was left standing alone in the corridor while the worst situations possible ran through his mind. He took a deep breath, and turned to find Hermione. She always knew what to do.


	3. Chapter 3

Word of Harry's disappearance spread like wildfire through the DA leaders. Neville, though awkward and abnormally clumsy, was determined to find an answer. Ginny, who'd recruited him to help brainstorm ideas about what had happened, walked beside him and almost lost him when he turned suddenly into the "Defense Against the Dark Arts" classroom. Neville's lip curled when he thought of that "class". Could it be considered a class? None of the DA thought so. Umbridge was even scarier than Snape. Uneasy, he swept his gaze to the office door above the stairs. Ginny noticed, and held back a sigh. "Neville, what are we doing here?"

"Maybe Harry was here," he answered, "and something happened. If someone used a Vanishing Cabinet to get Harry out of the castle and into Voldemort's hands, we need to find out who and when and where they put the Vanishing Cabinet."

"That's actually something I've been thinking of," Ginny admitted, and blew out a breath, "you think he was here?"

"Harry had his last class here," Neville reminded her, "and that was ages ago. If a Death Eater got in through a Vanishing Cabinet, and then grabbed Harry from here, all they'd have to do is get through the Cabinet again. In and out, and it's that simple."

The words sent a chill through Ginny. Neville was right. If a Death Eater had gotten into Hogwarts, it would not have been difficult to use one of those. But…

"If they used a Vanishing Cabinet, where is it now?"

Neville thought it through, "It doesn't have to be here. It could have been in here, then moved. It wouldn't make sense for a Vanishing Cabinet to be here in the first place."

"Who do you think would have gotten in?" Ginny asked, after swallowing.

"My money's on Bellatrix Lestrange. She'd try anything."

Ginny tilted her head, with her mouth slightly open, and then spoke: "It couldn't have been Bellatrix Lestrange, Neville. She was sighted just yesterday in Ireland."

"She can Apparate, yeah?" Neville reasoned.

"She can't Apparate inside the castle," Ginny countered, "that's impossible—Hermione says so."

"If she says so, it's true," Neville sighed, "well, that's one person we can cross off the list."

"Harry has a lot of enemies," Ginny noted, "but we'll figure out what happened. He's counting on someone to help." Together, the Gryffindors exited the dusty classroom. Neville gave the office door a lingering glance, his stomach churning.


End file.
